Derby's Sterling Opera House has a haunting reputation

Some believe the Sterling Opera House in Derby is haunted by ghosts. Patti Villars as a ghost in the theater. Photo ILLUSTRATION by Peter Casolino/New Haven Register

Some believe the Sterling Opera House in Derby is haunted by ghosts. Patti Villars as a ghost in the theater. Photo ILLUSTRATION by Peter Casolino/New Haven Register

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Some believe the Sterling Opera House in Derby is haunted by ghosts. Patti Villars as a ghost in the theater. Photo ILLUSTRATION by Peter Casolino/New Haven Register

Some believe the Sterling Opera House in Derby is haunted by ghosts. Patti Villars as a ghost in the theater. Photo ILLUSTRATION by Peter Casolino/New Haven Register

Derby's Sterling Opera House has a haunting reputation

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DERBY -- The Sterling Opera House is stately, historic and ... haunted?

No one can say for sure, but many unusual happenings have been reported there over the years.

Built in 1889, the Italianate-style structure stands tall on Elizabeth Street, across from the Green.

Its new cupola, installed last year, is illuminated at night and can be seen for miles. It serves as a beacon for the city's downtown.

Legend has it the place has more than a few inhabitants of the ghostly variety.

The brick and stucco structure is the first building in Connecticut to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1968.

"The place gets popular this time of year, close to Halloween, for obvious reasons," said Rich DiCarlo, Derby Cultural Commission co-chairman. "Things that go bump in the night -- and the day -- are the hot topic of interest this time of year."

One afternoon last week, DiCarlo unlocked the building and escorted two visitors up to the stage area.

He quickly noticed a door to a former bathroom was ajar. DiCarlo said he had been in the building the day before and the door was closed. He further said he had never seen the door open.

DiCarlo walked over to the door and was about to shut it when, he said, "it shut in my face."

Photos taken inside the building often are filled with orbs -- or are they merely lens flares? No one can say for sure.

The opera house has been the subject of numerous paranormal investigations.

In March 2011, the SyFy Network's "Ghost Hunters" show investigated the possibly haunted opera house.

Cast and crew were impressed with the opera house and the energy within, DiCarlo said. The half-hour episode was broadcast nationally in April.

Last fall, a TV production crew spent hours in the opera house, filming an episode for the Travel Channel series, "Destination Fear." It is scheduled to air today, DiCarlo said.

Mayor Anthony Staffieri has personal experience with out-of-the-ordinary occurrences in the opera house.

He recalled one such experience. "I went downstairs with a flashlight on to turn on the power," Staffieri said. "The light went off. I go outside and it goes on, I go back inside and it goes off."

Another time, Staffieri said, he was in the basement when "the weirdest feeling" came over him. "I felt like somebody was right behind me. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. It was a feeling of being watched."

"That's common," DiCarlo said. "Spirits or whatever draw power from any camera or flashlight batteries. We leave the building and they come back."

The building was used as a theater and vaudeville palace until 1945, and as a City Hall and police station until 1965.

DiCarlo also is president of the Valley Arts Council. He said the Cultural Commission and the Valley Arts Council have been working to bring attention to the opera house, in the hope that it will one day be returned to its former glory.